Lumber Jacked Page 6

  “Yes it is,” Grady said.

  The old man’s eyebrows rose. “Funny couple who run the place.”

  Grady nodded.

  They drove on a little farther and turned up a logging road that led steeply up and curled back toward the town. When they got to the top the view took Grady’s breath away. He could see for miles to the south, down over the little town and the forested valleys below. It was stunning, with the sun high in the sky above it all.

  They’d driven four miles to get to the cabin but because of the way the road curled, they were scarcely a mile above the rooftops and smoking chimneys of the town.

  The cabin itself was just as perfect. Some steps led up to a wide, hand-built porch that was bathed in the morning sunlight. Grady could imagine sitting on that porch with his morning coffee. The door led into the main room of the cabin, which was a decent size, log walls, high arched roof, and windows on three walls. To the right was a huge stone fireplace that would heat the place all winter easily. Off to the side was a good size bathroom, well built with aged wood, but without heated water for bathing, or a bathtub. Still, it had a toilet, which was the main necessity.

  The only other room was the bedroom, which had a smaller fireplace, a window and door leading out to a smaller side porch, and a massive bed that was made up with the most beautiful handmade quilt Grady had ever seen.

  “What about bathing?” Grady said.

  “That’s what the stream is for,” the old man said.

  The stream ran right past the house, gently gushing over rock. Grady looked at it from the bedroom porch and saw a fish leaping. He smiled.

  “Bet it’s icy.”

  “Oh, it is to be sure, but that’s what keeps us strong, right?”

  “If you say so,” Grady said. “Does it freeze in winter?”

  “Not completely. It’s running too fast.”

  An hour later, back in the realtor’s office, Grady was signing the paperwork that made the cabin his. He placed a call to his bank in San Francisco and while he was at the realtor’s office, called his family’s home in California and spoke to the daughter of the man who’d raised him. Her name was Lacey and Grady loved her like a sister. She wanted to know how he was getting on with the baby, and really wanted him to bring her home to be fawned over, but she understood when Grady told her he needed some time to rediscover his place in the world.

  He left the realtor’s office feeling happy and full of optimism. He’d bought the cabin of his dreams. His family back home knew he was safe. His daughter was sleeping in his arms with a smile on her face.

  He put her in the carseat and made his way back toward the hotel. Just as he was leaving town he saw a girl trudging through the snow at the side of the road, heading in his direction. He pulled over and she ran to the car and climbed in.

  His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Autumn.

  “Hey, what are you doing out here?” he said.

  Autumn looked at him and blushed, and he couldn’t have pictured a prettier image. Her cheeks were already red from the cool air and her embarrassment only made them prettier. He wondered what she was blushing at but supposed girls her age didn’t need much reason to be shy.

  “I just needed a little fresh air,” she said.

  “You want a ride back to the hotel?”

  “Definitely. I’ve had my fill of air. My feet are freezing now.”

  “You need some winter boots and a new coat. I don’t know what winters are like where you’re from, but up here things can get about as cold as you’re likely to see anywhere in the world.”

  “I know,” Autumn said. “I’ll have to see what I can do. I don’t have a lot of shopping money right now.”

  “You better ask Mrs. Hildegard for a raise,” Grady said, grinning.

  “I don’t know how she’d take to that idea.”

  “Oh, she’d love it,” Grady said. “She really looks like someone who likes parting with her hard earned dough.”

  Autumn sighed. “Tell me about it.”

  Grady looked at her. God, she was pretty. She was like the first flower that pokes it’s head out of the ground at the beginning of spring.

  “How do you like working at the hotel?”

  “It’s going okay.”

  “The old lady’s not giving you too hard of a time, is she?”

  “She’s got her moments, but I think I’ll be able to cope.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I’d hate to think of you struggling.”

  Autumn turned to him and they looked into each other’s eyes. Grady stared a moment too long and almost drove the car into a ditch.

  “Sorry,” he said as he maneuvered back onto the road, swerving.

  They drove on in silence for a few minutes and Grady just thought about her eyes. He wanted to tell her she was pretty but he didn’t want to come across as a creep. If she’d been a little older, or if she looked a little more experienced in the ways of the world, he’d have told her what he thought of her and asked her out for a drink, but something about her was just too innocent and pure for his usual tricks. He felt he owed her, and God, more respect than to take advantage of something so beautiful.

  Besides, he was a father now. He had to set a good example to the world.

  At last, it was Autumn who broke the silence.

  “The thing I really like about the hotel is my room,” she said.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “It’s very cozy, with a nice bed and it’s own fire. I’ve even got my own bathroom with a nice hot bath waiting for me every night. I never had anything like that back home.”

  “You like being cozy?”

  “Yes I do.”

  “And what about being up here in the mountains?”

  “I think this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in my life,” she said. “Not that I’ve been to too many places.”

  “You haven’t been to London and Paris and Rome, I take it?”

  “Not yet,” Autumn said, “but I will. One day.”

  “I bet you’ll make it, too,” Grady said. “They’ll love you in Paris.”

  “Me? Really?”

  “Definitely. There’s no place in the world that suits a beautiful girl like Paris does.”

  Autumn blushed again and Grady felt his cock throb with desire when he looked at her. He tried to think of something different, something less sexual, but he couldn’t, and his cock continued to grow until he had a full erection in his jeans. It made it uncomfortable for him to sit in his seat.

  In the back of the car, Destiny stirred and let out a little cry. Autumn reached back, released her from the carseat and held her on her lap. She cooed at the baby and almost instantly, Destiny fell back asleep.

  When Grady saw the way she was holding his baby, his cock throbbed even harder and it was all he could do not to reach across, grab Autumn, and crush his lips against hers.

  He’d never wanted anything so much as he wanted her in that moment.

  “You know what’s really nice about my room?” Autumn said.

  “What?”

  “The room next to mine has a really, really beautiful view.”

  Autumn was blushing again as she said that, but he couldn’t tell why.

  Chapter Twelve

  Autumn

  Later that night, Autumn was lying in her bathtub thinking about Grady when she heard a knock on her door.

  She stood up and as she was reaching for a towel, the door of the bathroom opened, startling her. She let out a little scream when she saw Mrs. Hildegard standing in front of her.

  “Oh,” she stammered.

  “It’s still my house,” Mrs. Hildegard said. “I’ll come and go as I please.”

  “Yes, Mistress,” Autumn said, standing there entirely naked, water dripping from her body.

  She reached for the towel to cover herself up but Mrs. Hildegard grabbed it.

  “Come on, girl. Follow me.”

  “What? Now?”

&nbs
p; Mrs. Hildegard rolled her eyes, as if Autumn’s question was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard, and led the way back through the room.

  “Come on, hurry up.”

  “I’m just grabbing something to put on.”

  “No. Come as you are.”

  Autumn was too startled to respond and ran on after Mrs. Hildegard.

  Mrs. Hildegard led the way into Betsy’s room and pulled out the bed. She sat down and motioned for Autumn to sit down next to her. Autumn felt intensely uncomfortable, sitting there naked, dripping, next to her employer.

  “What’s going on?” she said in a hushed tone.

  “Just shut up and sit there. Watch me.”

  “Watch you?” Autumn said, horrified.

  Mrs. Hildegard was in her white nightdress and as her hand crept up under it, Autumn shuddered in disgust.

  “I don’t want to,” she said, even more quietly than before.

  “You’ll watch or your mother won’t get that check for her medicine.”

  “You sent it?”

  “First check will be in the mail tomorrow morning, so long as you do as you’re told.”

  Autumn sat silently as Mrs. Hildegard’s hand began moving up and down inside the nightdress. Autumn knew exactly what she was doing and when she looked down into Grady’s bedroom she saw why. He had lit his fire and was sitting in the chair next to it, dressed in a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else. He was reading a big novel and as he sat there quietly, Autumn felt a strong pull of desire.

  He looked so good, so serene and comfortable, so relaxed. In a strange way, watching him relaxed like this was even more intimate than spying on him naked.

  Autumn felt her cheeks flush and her hands begin to quiver. She felt humiliated as she sat there, entirely naked, while Mrs. Hildegard stared down at Grady and pleasured herself. She wondered what Mrs. Hildegard was getting out of this. Why did she want Autumn to sit there and watch? Did Autumn’s presence somehow make the spying less invasive, less pathetic, than if she did it alone? Did being watched give her a heightened sense of excitement?

  What was she doing?

  Autumn knew she couldn’t judge too harshly. The first thing she’d done herself after finding out about the peephole was sneak back in and pleasure herself.

  She thought back to what she’d witnessed the night before, Grady’s cock growing to prodigious size as he increased his pleasure. The white semen flying out from it like a volcano of passion erupting. The look on his face when he heard her muffled scream.

  She got aroused just thinking about it.

  Then Mrs. Hildegard moaned softly and the sound brought her back to the present. She was disgusted.

  She sat in silence until Mrs. Hildegard finally climaxed, her breathing and gasping making it obvious that she’d brought herself over the edge.

  Looking slightly more sheepish, Mrs. Hildegard looked up at Autumn as she wiped her fingers clean on her panties.

  “What are you looking at?” she said. “Don’t think I don’t know you came in here last night. Don’t think I don’t know exactly what you did, you little pervert.”

  Autumn felt a wave of humiliation rush over her.

  Mrs. Hildegard knew!

  “I know what you did. You’re every bit as horny as I am and if you ever tell a soul about this, I’ll tell what you did.”

  Autumn shook her head.

  “That’s right, you dirty little slut. You know about my secret, but I know about yours too.”

  Autumn, painfully aware that she was sitting there naked, stood up and made to leave.

  “Oh,” Mrs. Hildegard said, slipping off her panties and throwing them to Autumn, who caught them in disgust, “wash these for me. They’re soaking.”

  Autumn held them out from her body.

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  She walked to the door and then stopped. There was something she had to ask Mrs. Hildegard and she thought this was about as good a time as any she would get.

  “Is there anyway I could make a phone call to my mother tomorrow? I need to talk to her but my cell gets no signal up here.”

  Mrs. Hildegard looked up at her and Autumn knew by the expression on her face that she was going to be kind. Not too kind, but kinder than she usually was. Something about the secret they shared now seemed to have made them confidants of sorts.

  “There’s a payphone at the diner in town. You can go tomorrow after you finish your morning chores.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Grady

  The next day found Grady in the main supermarket in town. He was stocking up on all the things he thought he and Destiny would need in the new cabin and was having a hard time finding everything.

  He stood in complete confusion in the aisle for baby supplies. He didn’t have the slightest idea what he should buy to make the baby comfortable. They had a surprisingly extensive choice of baby foods, formulas, diapers, clothing, toys, medications, and everything else you could think of. If the hardware store had half this selection, he thought, he’d have no trouble turning the cabin into a comfortable home.

  “You look like you could use a hand,” a familiar voice said from behind him.

  He turned and his heart leapt when he saw Autumn’s face.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I saw your car outside,” she said. “I was on my way into town to make a call home.”

  “No cell signal up at the hotel?”

  Autumn shook her head.

  “Me either,” Grady said.

  He looked her over and felt a shiver of desire as his eyes took her in. She was wearing the same simple black dress she always wore and she seemed to have somehow pulled three pairs of socks on over her tights to keep her feet warm.

  “They have surprisingly good winter boots and coats here,” Grady said.

  “Oh, I don’t have money for shopping right now.”

  “Let me grab you a pair. I feel bad every time I see you trudging through the snow in those things,” he said, looking at her black leather shoes. “Those look pretty, but they’re no match for the weather up here.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t let you spend your money on me,” Autumn said.

  She looked uncomfortable at the thought and Grady understood. People really weren’t in the habit of accepting gifts like that from people they barely knew. He’d have felt the same way in her position and didn’t want to embarrass her.

  “I’d really be honored,” he said, but when she shook her head he decided to let the matter rest.

  “What about you?” she said, changing the subject. “What are you looking for?”

  “To be honest, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I can’t make sense of all this. What’s the difference between all these pacifiers?”

  Autumn laughed, and he wanted to lift her into his arms when he heard her. She was so full of joy and life. She was everything he needed, and seeing her right there made him crave it deep in his soul.

  “I can help if you like.”

  “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Of course not. It would be my pleasure.”

  “Well, Destiny would thank you, I’m sure.”

  They shopped together for half an hour, picking out all sorts of baby items including clothing. When Grady put food and kitchen supplies in the cart, Autumn looked at him.

  “What is the adult food for? You don’t like what you’re getting at the hotel?”

  Grady laughed. “Oh no, it’s great. Apart from you, the food is the best thing about that place.”

  Autumn blushed. “It just looks like you’re stocking up,” she said.

  “Well, I bought a little cabin overlooking the town. This is to stock the place up.”

  “You bought a cabin?”

  “Yeah. I brought Destiny out here to start a completely new life.”

  “Things weren’t working out for you before?”

  Grady smiled. “You could say that. It’s a long story, but let’s just say there comes a time
in your life when you realize that what you’re doing isn’t working.”

  “And you need a completely fresh start?”

  “Exactly,” he said.

  “I get that.”

  Grady looked at her. She was a little young to be thinking of a fresh start to life but looking in her eyes, he could tell she’d seen more of the world than a lot of girls her age. There was a depth to her that usually took many more years to develop. He knew from experience it came from hardship.

  She looked into his eyes then, and for the first time used his first name.

  “I’ll be really sad to see you leave the hotel, Grady.”

  He looked back at her. Hearing her say his name had an unsettling effect on him. He felt like he’d just ridden a rollercoaster.

  “Well, it’s still a small town. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

  She nodded, but there was a real sadness in her.

  “It’s just, you arrived at Raven’s Nest the same night I did. I’ve never been there alone. I’ve always had the comforting thought that if I really needed you, you were there. Even though we didn’t really know each other.”

  Grady nodded. He had to admit, the thought that he’d be seeing less of Autumn had been one of his biggest concerns since buying the cabin, but he hadn’t stopped to think she might feel the same way. It made perfect sense. Raven’s Nest was the creepiest hotel he’d ever been in. Mr. and Mrs. Hildegard were like characters out of a Charles Dickens novel. No girl in the world would be happy to be left alone with the two of them, least of all a girl as sweet and innocent as Autumn. She just wasn’t equipped for the kind of treatment she was likely to get at their hands.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I can come by and check in on you from time to time,” Grady said.

  Autumn smiled, partially consoled by the thought.

  “I’d like that,” she said.

  They finished their shopping and Autumn waited with Destiny while Grady ran everything through the checkout. Her jaw dropped when the cashier announced the total. It was over six hundred dollars.